I am an American living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and have lived overseas for extended periods for a decade. Over the last 3 years, I have seen a sharp drop in respect for the United States. The population here comes from throughout the world, and this sentiment is reflected pretty heavily across the board, not just among Arabs or Muslims. In short, the US is genuinely despised, mistrusted and feared because of its perceived arrogance toward the rest of the world, especially regarding the Iraq war. As an American who is generally proud of his country, it can be a bit lonely sometimes.
I believe that in key areas the US is fundamentally less secure now than before invading Iraq. Here’s a few reasons why:
1.The hydra keeps growing more heads. Al-Qaeda Inc. has been handed a perfect recruitment opportunity (fighting the occupiers). You’ll never clean the rats’ nest if they breed faster than you can kill them.
2. We’re radioactive. The unpopularity of the US means overt US support for any program (for students in Iran, democracy in Arab world, etc.) is a kiss of death.
3. The boy who cried wolf. Who will believe us now when we push for action against WMD in Syria, Iran, N. Korea, etc? Our credibility is seriously harmed. (Yes, I thought they would be found too...)
Don’t get me wrong—I think we are doing Iraqis a huge favor, and they’ll be far better off several years from now than under Saddam.
My point is not that we should abandon Iraq (to a large extent its our mess now, and to walk away would be dishonorable), but that we need to be aware that we are mistrusted, disliked and feared throughout most of the world. It shouldn’t be like this, but as long as this remains the case, our ability to lead by inspiration and example, not solely through coercion, will be crippled.
Don’t write this off as whiny liberal mishmash or “finger in the air” opinion polling. Its not. Its just common sense not to alienate the rest of the world.
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